Kate and Leopold, The Story Continues
Prologue
She couldn’t remember running so fast in her life. She had to get there, this time before her grandfather could reach her. The last time she ran for the bridge, he had been right behind her and almost discovered her secret.
So she hid from him, hoping he would go away so that she could jump. She saw him run past and smiled, coming out of her hiding place, only to come face to face with that wretched old man.
So she went back home with him, even though she knew the consequences of her action.
Now here she was, a day later, running for her life. She looked up and saw the Brooklyn Bridge ahead of her. She turned quickly and noticed that her grandfather was nowhere in sight, but he had tricked her before. She was about to go back when she heard the sirens in the distance and then she saw him coming around the corner. He was three long city blocks away. She turned and ran for the bridge onto the pedestrian walkway. She found the girder and walked across very carefully, so she wouldn’t fall.
Finally, reaching the end of it, she looked back, but could see nothing. The sirens had gotten louder now and she could see the lights of the Emergency Medical Service ambulance going up the street. She turned her head and looked down at the water. It was then that she had made her mind up. She wasn’t coming back this time, no matter what had happened. She couldn’t stand living with her grandfather another second. Whether she liked it or not, this was the only way out.
And so she jumped.
Chapter 1
Stuart Besser and Charlie McKay were still standing on the Brooklyn Bridge. Kate McKay had just jumped off the bridge to be with Leopold, the Duke of Albany.
“I still can’t believe she did it, Stuart,� Charlie said, still looking into the water.
Stuart was still smiling. He shook his head. He turned as he heard sirens in the distance. “The police are coming back to look for Kate’s body, Charlie. I think we’d better….�
But Charlie was moving. Instead, he pointed to the East River. “Look, Stuart, look over there.�
Stuart looked down and saw someone swimming toward the city side of the bridge. It looked as if it was a woman.
“Quickly, Charlie. We have to get off this bridge now. She’ll soon be up here and we should meet her.�
Charlie frowned. “You don’t think that’s Kate, do you?�
“I don’t know,� Stuart said, running as fast as could. “The portal could have closed or something could have happened. Come on.�
Charlie looked behind him and noticed the police cars were getting closer. He turned and followed Stuart off the bridge.
Chapter 2
Amber Coulter looked around and smiled. She finally made it back here, back to New York in the year 2001. She had been here twice before, after she had discovered the portal in time. She knew she had to see someone named Stuart Besser. Amber had watched him hard at work, mapping out the portal to 1876. She watched him through the window of his apartment after walking up to the roof. He never noticed her, not even when she followed him to the Brooklyn Bridge. Amber watched as he jumped off and landed in the water. She decided to follow his lead and jumped off as well. What she had discovered was a New York she had never known and never realized existed.
She watched Stuart as he swam away from the bridge toward the city side. When he reached the bank, he stood up, getting his bearings. Satisfied, Stuart began to walk.
Amber moved ever closer to the shore, making sure he didn’t see her. Only when he disappeared around the corner, did she have the nerve to climb out of the water and follow him down the cobblestone street. She had lost him by this time and decided to head back, so she jumped off the bridge, thinking that she would return to 2001.
But that was not the case. She had returned to her own time, the New York of 2030. She swam to shore and ran back home, pulling out some of Stuart’s discarded calculations. That’s how she discovered the time portal to the past, to 2001.
She looked up and watched as someone ran toward her, telling her to stop. By instinct, she began to run, thinking that she had made a mistake, that she hadn’t come back to 2001 after all.
“Wait, wait,� the man yelled out as he caught up to her. “I won’t hurt you.�
He reached out and touched her shoulder. “I just want to talk to you, please.�
Chapter 3
“I cannot believe you jumped off that girder,� Leopold said, laughing. The ball was over and his Uncle Milliard had gone to sleep, leaving the two of them alone. Now they were sitting outside in the walled in garden. They had walked to the furthest end of it, as far away from the mansion as they could get.
“I don’t know what happened,� Kate said. “One minute I was standing there in front of all those people and the next minute, I was standing on the Brooklyn Bridge saying goodbye to Stuart and Charlie.�
“What do you mean?� Leopold said, frowning.
Kate smiled. “Oh, I never told you, did I?�
Leopold shook his head. “Told me what?�
“J.J. picked me to be the next VP of CRG Research.�
“VP?� Leo asked, a little confused.
“Vice President,� Kate answered. She smiled. “I was being introduced as the new VP when Stuart and Charlie broke in and handed me a bunch of pictures.� She pulled them out of the bosom of her dress and handed them to Leopold. She had wrapped them up in a plastic bag so that they wouldn’t get wet. “These are the shots that Stuart took a week ago, when he came to visit.�
Leopold looked through the photos and looked in shock as he came to the one of Kate at the ball.
He looked up and smiled. “I knew that I had seen you before,� he said. He looked up and the smile disappeared. He shook the pictures at her. “We have to burn these, Kate, before my uncle discovers them. You took a huge risk in bringing these here.�
Kate smiled. “As soon as we go back, we can throw them into the fireplace.�
Leo smiled again. “Quick thinking, woman.� He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was three thirty in the morning. “Come, we should be getting back. We have a long day tomorrow.�